Petraeus to receive $1 salary for CUNY teaching job

David Petraeus came under fire for a reported $200,000 salary as an adjunct professor at CUNY. Credit: Reuters

Former CIA Director David Petraeus will receive a salary of $1 for his job as visiting professor at the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY this coming academic year, The New York Times reports.

Petraeus was under fire earlier this year when reports that he would be receiving $200,000 for the part-time job made headlines.

“The general never was taking on this teaching assignment for the money,” Robert Barnett, his lawyer, told the Times.

"Once controversy arose about the amount he was being paid, he decided it was much more important to keep the focus on the students, on the school and on the teaching, and not have it be about the money," he said.

CUNY announced in April that Petraeus would teach a seminar called "Are We on the Threshold of the North American Decade."

Documents obtained by Gawker via a Freedom of Information request revealed that Petraeus and then CUNY Chancellor Matthew Goldstein had agreed on a yearly salary of $200,000, according to the Times.

When outrage ensued, CUNY insisted the agreement was made on $150,000, all from private private funds.

Full-time faculty members at CUNY earn just under $90,000 per year. Adjunct professors make a few thousand dollars per course.

"We felt that we had the opportunity to bring somebody of extreme stature to be with our students and that whether the salary was $200,000 or $150,000 he was absolutely worth it," said Ann Kirschner, dean of Macaulay. "I sympathize with the concerns about salary, but I also believe he is an extremely valuable teacher for our students."

The announcement was made on Monday that he would be receiving $1 for the job.

In addition to teaching at CUNY, Petraeus works as chairman of the KKR Global Institute and teaches courses at the University of Southern California. Petraeus resigned from the CIA last year after admitting to having an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell.